By Richard Harland Smith
Code Two
Brief Synopsis
Three young men train to become motorcycle cops.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Fred M. Wilcox
Director
Ralph Meeker
Chuck O'Flair
Sally Forrest
Mary Hardley
Keenan Wynn
[Sgt.] Jumbo [Culdane]
Robert Horton
Russ Hardley
James Craig
Lt. Redman
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Crime
Release Date
Apr
24,
1953
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 9m
Film Length
6,218ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
At the Los Angeles Police Academy, new recruits Chuck O'Flair, Harry Whenlon and Russ Hardley become friends as they go through the rigorous training program. Russ brings his buddies home for a barbecue one night, and Chuck is immediately attracted to Russ's pretty sister-in-law, Jane Anderson, but she prefers Harry, a shy young man whose policeman father was killed in action. When the men complete their training, Chuck calls Jane to ask her to the graduation dance, but she finagles a date with Harry instead. The rookies begin their jobs, but are soon bored with their dull assignments. One day a motor squad officer comes into the diner where they are eating, and the three friends speak enviously of his exciting, well-paid job. Despite warnings from Sgt. Jumbo Culdane, the academy's drill instructor, about its dangers, the three men apply for transfers to the motor squad and, after a round of interviews and tests, begin their training. Russ confides to Harry that he has been concealing his new position from his wife Mary. After extensive training in handling their powerful motorcycles, the three men pass the course and begin patrolling the streets of Los Angeles. When Russ brings his motorcycle home after his first day on the job, Mary is dismayed to learn that he gave up his safe job at the station. One night, Harry and Chuck observe a truck running a stop sign, and after Chuck's cycle stalls, Harry drives off in pursuit. When Harry pulls the truck over and demands to see what is in the back, the driver's companion knocks Harry out with a wrench, then backs the truck over his body. Blaming himself for Harry's death, Chuck asks his commander, Capt. Bill Williams, for permission to search for the killers, and is allowed to go undercover for ten days. The investigation soon reveals two important clues: a distinctive mark in the truck's tire tread and evidence of bovine blood on Harry's jacket. Jumbo concludes they are looking for a cattle truck. While on duty one night, Chuck and Russ pursue a speeding truck on wet roads, in violation of department regulations, and Russ spins out and damages his motorcycle. Williams suspends them, but Jumbo intercedes and gets Chuck and Russ reinstated. Meanwhile, the men who killed Harry use the truck in their cattle rustling operation. Jumbo is playing cards with a friend at a sheriff's substation when the rustling is reported and, on a hunch, contacts the Los Angeles Police Department, then advises Chuck to cruise the highway near Chatsworth. Chuck throws water on the road and checks the tire pattern of each truck that drives by, until he spots the distinctive tread mark. Dressed in civilian clothes, Chuck follows the truck to a cattle ranch and calls in for help. While waiting for backup, Chuck explores the ranch and is discovered by the driver and his partner in the slaughterhouse. While Chuck is making up an excuse, the rustlers, who heard the police radio broadcasting from Chuck's concealed motorcycle, come in and expose him. Chuck fights off his assailants, sending Harry's murderer flying into a pit of bubbling quick lime. After a brutal fistfight with the truck driver, Chuck makes it back to his motorcycle, but is shot and wounded just before the police arrive. Later, in the hospital, Jumbo congratulates the young officer for finally "making the force," and Chuck is pleased to meet his beautiful nurse.
Director
Fred M. Wilcox
Director
Cast
Ralph Meeker
Chuck O'Flair
Sally Forrest
Mary Hardley
Keenan Wynn
[Sgt.] Jumbo [Culdane]
Robert Horton
Russ Hardley
James Craig
Lt. Redman
Elaine Stewart
Jane [Anderson]
Jeff Richards
Harry Whenlon
Robert Burton
Capt. [Bill] Williams
Jonathan Cott
Truck driver
William Campbell
Companion
Fred Graham
Sgt. Payne
Rudy Lee
Mike
Tyler Mcvey
Chief of police
Michael Dugan
Policeman
William Lewin
Policeman
Carey Loftin
Policeman
John Rosser
Policeman
Lee Phelps
Policeman
Frank Peters
Policeman
Robert Foulk
Sergeant
Phil Chambers
Sergeant
Roy Engel
Sergeant
Fred Datig Jr.
Candidate
William Tannen
Officer Kane
Frank Wilcox
Capt. Stark
Frank Mills
Prisoner
George Sherwood
Supply sergeant
Dennis Ross
Boy
Shirley Falls
Waitress
John Close
Lieutenant
Mary Lawrence
Girl
George Meader
Witness
Marjorie Garretson
Witness
Robert Carson
Homicide officer
Jack Halliday
Chemist
Alvin Gordon
Mug truck driver
Ray Hyke
Young cowhand
Chuck Connors
Deputy
Clem Fuller
Rural driver
Gil Perkins
Man in warehouse
Almira Sessions
Nurse
Noelle Kent
Blonde nurse
Crew
Alberto Colombo
Music Director
William Ferrari
Art Director
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
A. Arnold Gillespie
Special Effects
William Grady Jr.
Producer
Ray June
Director of Photography
Marcel Klauber
Written for Screen by
Jay Marchant
Unit Manager
Gerald Mayer
Fill-In Director
George Sawley
Set Decoration
Douglas Shearer
Recording Supervisor
Fredrick Y. Smith
Film Editor
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
Dolph Zimmer
Assistant Director
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Crime
Release Date
Apr
24,
1953
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 9m
Film Length
6,218ft
(8 reels)
Articles
Code Two (1953) -
The archetype of the talented but undisciplined student bristling under the guiding hand of his wiser, more experienced teacher extends beyond the purview of cinema but has made for some entertaining films - from William Keighley's "G" Men (1935) to Taylor Hackford's An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and beyond. In MGM's police drama Code Two (1953), directed by Fred M. Wilcox (Forbidden Planet [1956]), Ralph Meeker plays an LAPD cadet too eager for action to suit commanding officer Keenan Wynn, who knows he must break the boy to make the man. Influenced by Jack Webb's seminal procedural Dragnet (which debuted on radio in 1951 and on television the following year) and scripted by Marcel Klauber (better known as a composer, and for penning the lyrics to "Sweet Georgia Brown"), Code Two makes most of the expected stops (sensitive family man Robert Horton all but has a target drawn on his back) along the way to its bullet-riddled conclusion but throws in enough curves to keep the ride thrilling. Meeker's brash beginner is a pencil sketch for his steely performance as Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and the supporting cast is rich in familiar faces, among them Chuck Connors, Robert Foulk, veteran stuntmen Carey Loftin and Gil Perkins, and William Campbell, as a cop-killer who trades punches with Meeker over a vat of boiling quicklime.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Code Two (1953) -
The archetype of the talented but undisciplined student bristling under the guiding hand of his wiser, more experienced teacher extends beyond the purview of cinema but has made for some entertaining films - from William Keighley's "G" Men (1935) to Taylor Hackford's An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and beyond. In MGM's police drama Code Two (1953), directed by Fred M. Wilcox (Forbidden Planet [1956]), Ralph Meeker plays an LAPD cadet too eager for action to suit commanding officer Keenan Wynn, who knows he must break the boy to make the man. Influenced by Jack Webb's seminal procedural Dragnet (which debuted on radio in 1951 and on television the following year) and scripted by Marcel Klauber (better known as a composer, and for penning the lyrics to "Sweet Georgia Brown"), Code Two makes most of the expected stops (sensitive family man Robert Horton all but has a target drawn on his back) along the way to its bullet-riddled conclusion but throws in enough curves to keep the ride thrilling. Meeker's brash beginner is a pencil sketch for his steely performance as Mike Hammer in Robert Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and the supporting cast is rich in familiar faces, among them Chuck Connors, Robert Foulk, veteran stuntmen Carey Loftin and Gil Perkins, and William Campbell, as a cop-killer who trades punches with Meeker over a vat of boiling quicklime.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film opens with a voice-over narration in which police sergeant "Jumbo Culdane" outlines the kinds of traffic hazards encountered by motorcycle officers. According to a news item in the "Rambling Reporter" column in Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Chief of Police William H. Parker was originally scheduled to portray himself in the film.
